Project Runaway: 5 M’s…and Barcelona?

If it’s not known by now, it needs be to be made clear: Brisa Libre does what she wants, when she wants, and how she wants.

It may sound like I’m spoiled, but…I want to be. I don’t want anyone to spoil me; I just want me to spoil myself. Egocentric? Of course, and I am bold and shameless enough to admit it.

The life I live right now just has too many constraints. I have been living under the rules since Day 1. It is suffocating and I can only handle so much. I think it’s time.

It’s time to do what I want, when I want, and how I want.

So here I officially declare my mission that I have been keeping in my head for a while now: Project 5 M’s (Madrid-Malaga-Marbella-Mallorca-Menorca).

Obviously, I am going to study abroad in Malaga, Spain. But I have decided to stay in Spain a bit longer – just a week or two and just be with myself and myself only.

When I land in Madrid, I will head down to Malaga to study until August. While I am in the city of Malaga, I will find a free weekend to visit a nearby town-Marbella. When August comes, I will leave for the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Menorca. Hopefully, I will still have enough money to go to Barcelona…. But I’m not sure yet.

Why would I want to go to Barcelona, the heart and soul of Catalonia region of Spain? Well, let’s see here, I am trying to answer that question myself:

-I hate touristy places (Barcelona is one of THE most visited places on Planet Earth. I don’t know what my problem is, but I just hate popular things. I don’t want to do something just because the rest of the world is doing it. Guess why I choose to study abroad in Malaga, of all places.)

-I’m not sure how to feel about all the talks about Catalonia independence… (It’s hard to talk about this subject because I don’t want to offend anyone. Regardless of what side I pick, someone will strongly disagree with me. Let’s be honest, it’s tough to talk about nationalism. I have always thought that the less said about it the better. But yes, I do have an opinion on this subject but it’s better to stay silent…but not for today, I guess.)

-They don’t even speak Spanish there. (Well, they do – but I would imagine that Catalan would be the preferred language. How do I know? I don’t. I just tried to put myself in a Catalan person’s shoes. Trust me, I understand the difficulty of cultural differences – not just the ones between USA and my own country, but also the ones within my very own country. I can imagine how a Catalan would feel because I grew up in a country with multiple linguistic diversity. The difference is that it’s only a dialect in my case, but in Spain, Catalan is a whole another language. They have their own alphabet, vocabulary, grammar, literature, and everything. So yes, I can only imagine. But the thing is, Catalan sounds a tiny teeny bit like French to me…and French is not my most favorite language. At the end of the day, I want to learn Catalan. It seems like my interest in this language slowly grows day by day……perhaps thanks to Marc Bartra and Marc Márquez… Ha.)

Marc Bartra, FC Barcelona’s young talent of 22 years old

Marc Márquez, the youngest MotoGP Champion (Season 2013) at and of 20 years old

–I’m not sure how to feel about all the modernist art. More specifically, the Gaudi buildings. (Everyone says they are beautiful, but beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I guess I just don’t get it…and if someone will hate me for it, I won’t blame them. I think I like conformity, structure, and yes, tradition – all of which is not present in his buildings. From a completely ignorant point of view about art, I think Gaudi’s designs are obviously modern, fluid, and free-spirited – which is what I want to be but may not be what I want to see. I know, I know, I’m a hypocrite with too much conflicts and contradictions within myself. But hey, I’m not going to lie about it. The only worry I have here is that I might offend the Catalans by admitting that I may not be that appreciative of some art/designs that they are so proud of.)

–Speaking of offending the Catalans, I’m not a big fan of Barça… AT ALL. (Because I’m a Madridista…HAHAHA. I’m worried that I might be exiled for going around saying that I dislike Neymar, or worse, Messi, or even worse, Pep Guardiola. Still, I’m sure they will be understanding and open-minded enough, or at least I hope so. It’s just that futbol seems to become so political there (see bullet point #2) and I’m not sure if the team is exclusively for Catalans. Just look at their slogan “Mes que un club” – “more than a club”… I wonder if there is an underlying political message here. I would not be surprised. I did a research paper on this once so I do understand where this is coming from. I learned that Franco strictly and brutally prohibited the use of the Catalan language, but that did not work in the Nou Camp. So I suppose the stadium seems to be the epitome of Catalan regionalism/nationalism… I’m not saying I hate some supporters or the club itself for bringing the issue of Catalan independence in. In fact, I think it is precisely what makes Spanish football so unique and attractive, if not addictive. I love the El Clasico match between Barcelona and Real Madrid more than any football game in the world. I’d like to visit Camp Nou just because I love La Liga. I appreciate what the team has done for the world of futbol for the past few years. And let’s be honest, the Barça players are absolutely amazing and talented…and some are ridiculously out-of-this-world attractive. Ahem, Marc Bartra, anyone?)

So, above are the reasons why I would not want to visit Barcelona.

But I know myself better than that. I know I will visit the city someday – sooner or later. It’s such a unique place that I need to visit at least once…but I know myself well enough that I will visit it more than once. This post is getting too long, so I will soon write about why I SHOULD visit Barcelona, and the others on my 5M’s adventure’s list .

Lastly, I apologize for unintendedly offending some readers – whether they be some tourists, Gaudi lovers, Barça fans, Catalan speakers or even the pro-Spain ones who may disagree with me pointing out how unique Catalonia and its language are. I try to stay neutral regarding the subject of independence because I know it’s a sensitive issue. But those are my thoughts around (not about) the subject and I stand my ground.